“My passion has always been in the earth,” says Alii Chang, who planted a lavender farm in upcountry Maui and made it into a work of art.

Local Maui farmer and visionary, Alii Arlington Chang, known best for his successful Alii Kula Lavender farm on the slopes of Haleakala, passed peacefully in his sleep April 13, 2011.

Alii’s vision for the lavender farm was to create a venue for “Sustainable Aloha.” This included educational stewardship projects with the community. In honor of that respect and vision, the Ali‘i Chang Foundation has been established to provide scholarships pursuing skills training in agriculture and for agricultural education in our local schools. Scholarship recipients should embody the very qualities Ali‘i possessed including a strong work ethic, as well as innate and natural skills in growing plants, flowers, trees and food crops.
Applicants should also have an eye for design, a commitment to aloha, hospitality and “aloha āina” or “love for the land.” More information will be provided as the foundation is developed.

For more information or to make a donation to the Ali‘i Chang Foundation, please contact Lanim@aklmaui.com.